Hey Blackberry, Thanks For The Tame Impala

     About a week ago, my wife and I were watching TV. In between programming and that Virgin mobile commercial with Wayne Coyne, they aired a Blackberry commercial with an awesome song. My wife commented that it sounded like John Lennon singing. So with both of our curiousities peaked, I decided to goggle the song. It was "Elephant" by Tame Impala from their recent album Lonerism. To my credit, I did know who they were because I had read the Pitchfork review and streamed Lonerism on NPR. Then a friend of mine at work asked me if I liked them. He said Lonerism was good, but had more keyboard than their first album Innerspeaker. At that point, I let Tame Impala go. Then I saw that Blackberry commercial. Blackberry probably wouldn't be thrilled to know that I don't give a rat's ass about smart phones or gadgets, but I love good music. So thanks for the Tame Impala.
     For the past few days I've been listening to their albums on Youtube and reading reviews. My friend was right that Innerspeaker rocked more and that Lonerism was more keyboard oriented. The reviews can be boiled down to the singer sounds like John Lennon and the music sounds like Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. I watched the video for "Elephant" and one guy was playing a John Lennon style Rickenbacher and another was playing a Hofner bass. I'm curious if they actually play those, or if it was just marketing for the video. I'm going to buy Lonerism today at work and I'm still trying to track down Innerspeaker. I'm also excited that their original EP is being released on red vinyl for Record Store Day. I'll probably do a record Store Day post, so I'll save my Tame Impala recommendations until then.
     Before I go, I thought some of you might be interested to know which Sound Mind posts have been the most viewed so far. Here's the top 5. Peace. (note: I have since added the popular posts gadget)

1) Neutral Milk Hotel- In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (thx to Christine @ WRUW)

2) Wire- Pink Flag

3) The Oasis vs. Blur Thing (especially in Spain for some reason)

4) Tobin Sprout

5) Guided by Voices 2012

Nirvana: Nevermind

     It seems impossible that next year will be the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death. I believe next year Nirvana will be eligible for the Rock Hall, as well. My oldest daughter was a baby when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" dominated MTV. The first time I saw that video was the middle of the night while trying to rock her back to sleep. I couldn't really understand any of the lyrics, but it sounded awesome. Now my daughter is a senior at Wayne State University. Damn, I'm getting old. Kurt Cobain didn't get old, though. Ironically, that's what makes Nirvana great and a lock to get into the Rock Hall on their first try. Nirvana's legacy is Bleach, Nevermind, In Utero, Incesticide, some live recordings and a box set. Were Kurt still alive who knows what direction they would have taken the past 20 years. They may have broke up and then had a reunion tour this year. They may have kept going with a new drummer when Dave Grohl left to start his own band. Kurt might have gone solo and become a boring singer/songwriter. Instead, Kurt will be remembered as a young man who was the voice of his generation.
     Nevermind came out at an important time in my life, musically. In the late 80's, I had had my fill of hair metal bands and I detested Guns 'N' Roses and Metallica. I went back to R.E.M.'s early albums to regain my musical bearings. Then I was drawn to the jangly rock of The Smithereens and the power pop, dashed with wry humor, of The Pursuit Of Happiness. So I was transitioning from metal to alternative right before Nevermind came out. This was the perfect album, because it blended hard rock and alternative rock with the pop sensibility of The Beatles. The songs were all over tv and the radio. Smells Like Teen Spirit. In Bloom. Lithium. Polly. Come As You Are. Unfortunately, I can't listen to "Come As You Are" anymore. I've heard it too many times and the line where he sings "I swear I don't have a gun" bothers me. My other favorites from Nevermind are "Breed", "Drain You", "Lounge Act" and "On A Plain". "On A Plain" has one of my favorite lines: "love myself better than you, I know it's wrong but what should I do? ".  It's popular now for hipsters to crap on Nevermind and claim that Bleach or In Utero were better, but it's an amazing album. My oldest daughter already likes Nirvana, so I recommend that my other kids listen to every cd and watch every concert dvd in my Nirvana collection. I was going to talk about Grunge and Foo Fighters in this post, but I'll save those for another day. Instead, I'll close with my favorite non-Nevermind Nirvana songs. Peace.

Bleach
     * About A Girl- the album version is 1000x better than the unplugged version. Very Beatlesque.
     * Downer

In Utero
     * Serve The Servants- Teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old.
     * Heart-Shaped Box- favorite all-time Nirvana lyric: throw down your umbilical noose so I can
        climb right back.
     * Pennyroyal Tea

Incesticide

     * Dive
     * Aneurysm

Box Set

     * Sappy- I have no idea why this wasn't on an album or a huge hit. Stunning!
     * Marigold- This is why Dave Grohl had to have his own band.

My Cassette Tape Collection

     I thought I'd spend one post waxing nostalgic about cassette tapes. On one hand, cassettes seem like a relic from my childhood. However, as recently as a couple years ago I drove a car with a tape deck and I listened to my old cassettes. I even made mixtapes of music I have on cd to listen to in the car. Those days are over now and my cassette collection has been reduced to one case that holds 60 tapes. It's an old brown 2-sided case with the following stickers on it: Rush w/ red star, Rush Hemispheres, Z 93.5, Foreigner and Triumph Allied Forces.
     If you're my age, or a little younger, you may be able to relate to my childhood cassette tape obsession. My parents gave me my first tape recorder in the mid-70's. It was one of those boxy recorders with the "buttons" that you would push down for play, stop, record, rewind and fast forward. I would buy blank cassettes and then spend countless hours with the recorder by the radio taping songs. At first, I'd wait to hear the first couple notes of the song and then decide whether or not to record it. Then I got annoyed with not having the beginnings of songs, so I changed my technique. I just recorded every song and if I didn't like it I'd rewind the tape back to the end of the last song and try again. I also used my recorder to tape things off the television. This was before VCRs, so I'd tape the audio of Looney Tunes and Abbott and Costello. I was so obnoxious that I would demand everyone in the house be quiet while I was recording. Then, once a cassette was full you had to remember to break the tabs out of the top. This made it so you couldn't record on that tape anymore. I forgot a few times and then accidentally recorded over something that I'd previously recorded. I wish I still had some of those tapes. I had recorded several episodes of the King Biscuit Flour Hour, which was a live concert series that featured bands like Triumph, April Wine ad Billy Squier. I also recorded several Rush album specials. They were either called On The Record or In The Studio, I don't remember now.
     In the 80's, I had a job and saved up for a dual cassette player. This allowed you to record a tape onto another tape. This was the beginning of mixtapes and "file sharing". I say file sharing because you could borrow a tape from a friend or the library and record your own copy without having to buy it. It seemed like a Golden Age. Cassettes were going to replace vinyl records. People bought Walkmen. You couldn't drive or jog with a record player. Cassettes didn't get scratches and skips. However, cassettes didn't sound as good as records and they frequently were eaten up by the player. Then cd's came out and that was the end of cassettes. The last cassette I bought, other than blank cassettes, was Copper Blue by Sugar. Many of the cassettes in my collection were made by me with blank tapes, such as several GbV collections and the R.E.M. tape that I posted about previously. I still have my Rush and Led Zeppelin tapes too. Most albums that I had on tape that were good have been replaced by cd's. In the event my kids actually go through my tapes, and there are still tape players in existence, here is a list of recommendations. Peace.

* David Bowie- Ziggy Stardust Motion Picture Soundtrack
* Van Halen I
* Michael Hedges- Live On The Double Planet
* David Gilmour- David Gilmour (There's No Way Out Of Here is a stunning song)
* Yes- Fragile
* Yes- Classic Yes
* Ian Hunter- Shades of Ian Hunter
* Cars- 2 in 1 Cars and Candy-O
* Triumph- Allied Forces
* Triumph- Never Surrender
* Ozzy/Randy Rhoads- Tribute
* Judas Priest- Live!
* I've already posted about Rush, Led Zep and Cheap Trick

KISS

     You wanted the best and you got the best...and when I was a kid they WERE the hottest band in the world. KISS were literally the perfect band at the perfect time in my life. I remember looking through records at the store and always being drawn to the KISS section, especially Destroyer. They were like comic book characters, but they were also an actual rock band. The visuals were extremely appealing to a pre-teen boy. The Spaceman. The Demon. The Cat. The Starchild. I drew their faces on every desk and notebook I had. Ace Frehley was, and still is, my favorite. However, I never asked my mom if I could have a KISS record, because I assumed she'd say no. Amazingly, when I was 12 my parents got me Alive II. I played the hell out of that record. To a young boy those songs were epic. Detroit Rock City. Love Gun. Calling Dr Love. Shock Me. Shout It Out Loud. God Of Thunder. In fact, the live version of "Detroit Rock City" is my favorite live track of all-time. I recently replaced Alive II, because it was a casualty of one of my moves.
     The other day, I was talking to a couple of my friends and one of them brought up that Cheap Trick should be in the Rock Hall. My other friend jumped in and brought up KISS. I've already posted about Cheap Trick and my love for them, but they are a long shot at best. The fact that KISS aren't in the Rock Hall is preposterous. The problem is since 1977 they have made horrible career decisions. They lost me for awhile when they made that Phantom of the Park movie. I was so stoked to see that movie. Now this is back before cable and we only had one tv in our house. I begged my dad to let me have the tv so I could watch it. And it was a debacle. I got sucked back in when it was announced that they were going to take off their makeup on MTV. I was glued to the tv when they revealed their actual faces and played the "Lick It Up" video. After the novelty of that stunt faded, they went off my radar again. Then there were the disco songs and the constant linep changes and Gene being an unlikable d-bag.  However, there is no denying their influence on rock music, even to this day.
     Not to be sexist, but I'm recommending my KISS collection to my son. I don't think my daughters would like KISS and I'm sure I don't want them listening to KISS. KISS is for young boys. I know much of their catalog is comprised of songs about getting with women, but young boys only see the makeup and theatrics. And there's no denying the power of guitar riffs and choruses that become indelibly etched in your brain forever. I also recommend that he not bother with anything after Alive II. He just turned six today though, so I'll wait a few more years before I expose him KISS. He does know who they are though because he's seen me watch them on VH1 Classic. So, I look forward to the day we get an email from his teacher because he drew Ace Frehley all over his desk. Peace.

The Rolling Stones: Exile On Main St.

     Some of you may recall one of my previous posts entitled "My Rolling Stones Resolution". I confessed that I'm not a big fan of The Stones, but resolved that I'd try to give them a chance this year (like they care or need it). So, for two reasons I decided to try Exile On Main St. The first reason is  it's considered, by many, to be their best album. The other reason is I had only heard two songs from this album before I bought it; "Tumbling Dice" and "Happy". Anyhow, last week when I went to buy the new Bowie cd I saw a copy of Exile in the used bin, so I picked it up. I've listened to it a few times now and here are my first impressions.
     I hate to go all George Martin talking about The Beatles' White Album, but Exile shouldn't have been a double album. If this had been a single album with the following track list it would be awesome.

1) Rock's Off
2) Rip This Joint
3) Tumbling Dice
4) Sweet Virginia
5) Torn And Frayed
6) Happy
7) All Down The Line
8) Shine A Light
9) Soul Survivor

     Having said that, I did enjoy the album. I already knew I liked "Happy"; and "Tumbling Dice" is an amazing song. The other standout songs, to me, were "Rocks Off" and "All Down The Line". Generally speaking, I liked the tracks that were country influenced. They sounded authentic, rather than like some British guys trying to sound authentic. I also like how the guitars were up in the mix and Mick was back a little. Overall, I still like Some Girls better because it's more concise and filler-free. At this point, I feel I have The Stones two best albums, so I'm not sure where I'll go from here. I might try Sticky Fingers and/or Let It Bleed. I might just buy a hits collection and recommend that my kids try that first.
     I think my main problem with The Stones is a visual one. I hate their tongue logo. I don't like Mick's dance moves and mugging for the camera. Charlie Watts kinda creeped me out when I was a kid. Ron Wood makes me remember that Rod Stewart exists. I don't even know where to start with Keith. Perhaps if I just listen to their albums I can get past my personal hangups. Perhaps not, we'll see. Anyhow, I'll keep you posted on my next Stones move when I decide. Peace.

The Zombies: Odessey & Oracle

     First of all, I apologize to anyone who clicked on my post who was goggling for Walking Dead or whatever else you zombie people are into now. This post is about the criminally overlooked British Invasion band, The Zombies. The only thing stranger than me finding an old copy of Odessey &  Oracle on vinyl in a cardboard box, on the floor, in the corner of a thrift shop in Michigan was The Zombies' career trajectory. After having a couple hits (She's Not There and Tell Her No) during the height of the British Invasion, their career suddenly flatlined. A few years later, they decided to call it a day on The Zombies and released their final album, Odessey & Oracle. Crickets. Then miraculously a couple years after it's release, "Time of The Season" became a huge hit. By this time, however, The Zombies had broken up and refused to reunite to cash in on their newfound popularity. Chief songwriter and keyboardist, Rod Argent, had started his own band, Argent, who had a hit with the song "Hold Your Head Up". They had another song, "God Gave Rock And Roll To You", which would later be covered by KISS. Singer Colin Blunstone went into insurance for awhile before becoming a solo artist in the 70's.
     After being largely ignored upon it's release, Odessey & Oracle is now considered one of the most influential albums of the sixties, along with Pet Sounds, Rubber Soul and Revolver. The Zombies defining sound on O&O was their amazing harmonies, which were reminiscent of The Beach Boys and The Beatles. However, their style was more baroque, chamber pop. Not only do I have that thrift store find, but I already had the 30th anniversary cd with the album in mono and then in stereo. What makes O&O stand out from their earlier hits, apart from the harmonies, was that their song themes were more interesting. For instance, "Care Of Cell 44" is about a guy writing to his girl who is in prison. It's a bouncy little tune, because she's coming home soon. And the harmonies are stunning. However, "Time Of The Season" is the standout track on the album. The song hangs on Blunstone's vocal delivery and Argent's keyboard. I love the lines: "What's your name? Who's your daddy? Is he rich like me? Has he taken any time to show you what you need to live?" Other notable tracks include "Brief Candles", "This Will Be Our Year" and "I Want Her She Wants Me". I would strongly recommend it to anyone who hasn't heard it.
     I also have a collection called Absolutely The Best: The Zombies. Here are the highlights, apart from "Time Of The Season", which I've already covered. Peace.

* She's Not There- There's a great episode of Danger Man starring Patrick McGoohan where he's
       at a club and a woman is singing this in the background in a foreign language. Great song.

* Tell Her No- Beatles-inspired hit with the classic line: "If she tells you I love you just remember
       she said that to me."

* She's Coming Home- It's Motown in the verses and British Invasion in the chorus. Awesome!

* Whenever You're Ready- Jazzier version of Tell Her No

* Just Out Of Reach- A Colin Blunstone song and a rocker.

Robert Pollard: Best Non-GbV Songs

     So this post is about my favorite non-GbV songs by Robert Pollard that are in my collection. It has taken me awhile to go through everything again. Actually I'm still listening to a couple cd's while I write this. I've spent a couple posts on GbV songs already and I suggest my kids start with those. If they like GbV then they should tackle the Pollard Collection.  This post reflects my collection as of today, however, since Uncle Bob shows no signs of slowing down it will inevitably expand. I really hope at least one of my kids loves this stuff as much as I do. I previously posted about my favorite non-GbV album, Our Cubehouse Still Rocks by Boston Spaceships, so I won't go over that ground again. I tried to limit this list to the very best songs, as well as my favorite line from each song.

"Flat Beauty" (Not In My Airforce)- could have been a standout on Bee Thousand.
     - Jump up and down in your rock 'n' roll chair

"Psychic Pilot Clocks Out" (Not In My Airforce)
     - I feel life passing us by

"Pop Zeus" (Speak Kindly Of Your Local Fire Department)- Doug Gillard's guitar is awesome
     - He who shits out magic may shine

"Slick As Snails (Speak Kindly...)
     - piss away again, throwing caution to the wind, telling lies to friends
     - the imprint where you sat, dig the ripples caused by that

"Do Something Real" (Speak Kindly...)
     - you try or you don't

"And I Don't (Speak Kindly...)
     - here's what I've done for you, a life on the run, a foxhole and a gun, a roof that blocks out the
       view

"Tight Globes (Speak Kindly)
     - you didn't see me, you never see me
     - blonde machine in yellow spacecar, zip your legs in smooth rubber

"I Surround You Naked (From A Compound Eye)
     - force times distance equals far away, let's go
     This is my favorite solo Pollard song. I made my wife stay at a Pollard show long enough to
     hear this song...while she was pregnant. It's a miracle I'm still alive):

"Rud Fins" (Coast To Coast carpet of Love)
     - I went underground and I could not fly

"Weatherman And Skin Goddess" (Robert Pollard Is Off To Business)
     - yes no baby when I'm itching to work I will let you know

"The Butler Stands For us All" (The Crawling Distance)
     - if you go down on your life, I'll be there

"Symbols And Heads" (Elephant Jokes)
     - and no books say any damn thing

"New Theory" (Mars Classroom- New Theory Of Everything)- under the radar gem
     - the public's not gonna buy it, they won't understand

" Wish You Were Young" (New Theory Of Everything)
     - I don't really have a fav line, it's just a great song

"Winston's Atomic Bird" (Boston Spaceships- Brown Submarine)
     - now she's a head case with her soul re-wired

"You Satisfy Me" (Brown Submarine)
     - this gun's a frozen light gun

"Queen Of Stormy Weather" (Boston Spaceships- The Planets Are Blasted )
     - 2 miles from outta sight

"Make A Record For Lo-Life" (Boston Spaceships- Let It Beard)
     - watching head games poorly played

"Tabby And Lucy" (Let it Beard)
     - something to know, something to say, something to take my blues away

     I could have put dozens more amazing songs on this list, but my kids should do some of the work. When it comes down to nut cuttin' time, Robert Pollard is probably my favorite living songwriter. In fact, here's my list of favorite living songwriters (who are still relevent). Peace.

*Robert Pollard
*Will Johnson
*Tobin Sprout
*John K Samson
*John Darnielle

David Bowie: The Next Day

     A couple years ago, I resigned myself to the notion that the artists I liked from the 60's, 70's and 80's would never record anything relevent again. Paul McCartney. Neil Young. Elton John. Robert Plant. The Who. Ray Davies. The only exception had been Rush...until yesterday. After a 10 year hiatus, David Bowie has released an album that proves he is still a vital artist. Rather than playing the boring, old singer-songwriter card, he put out a rock album with guitars and drums and that amazing voice. That's the best thing about The Next Day; hearing that voice again.
     Back on Bowie's birthday when he released the first single "Where Are We Now?", I thought he had gone down the boring singer-songwriter road. Then Tony Visconti said he was surprised that was the first single, because the rest of the album was rock songs. I was skeptical, but hopeful. It turned out to be true. Now, I'm not going to break the album down track by track (that's what Pitchfork and The AV Club are for). Nor will I argue that any song on The Next Day will knock "Ziggy Stardust" or "Rebel Rebel" out of the Bowie canon. But it is a fantastic record.
     My only gripe about the cd is the packaging. It has the Heroes cover, but his face is covered by a white square that says The Next Day. Then on the back, the credits are covered by a white square with the song titles. Maybe there's some meaning to it, but for me it's kind of annoying. Inside, there is a fold out "poster" which has the lyrics on one side and the credits on the other side. That's fine, but the lyrics are all run together and the credits are microscopic and run together. It makes my brain hurt. It appears that Gail Ann Dorsey is on much of the album and there are appearances by artists such as Tony Levin, Earl Slick and ...oh I give up, my brain's hurting again.
     I've only listened to the cd a couple times, but here are my favorite tracks so far.

* The Next Day
* The Stars
* I'd Rather Be High
* Dancing Out In Space
* How Does The Grass Grow?
* If You Can See Me
* You Feel So Lonely You Could Die
* I'll Take You There (bonus track, I bought the deluxe edition)

     I still wish Bowie would change his mind about touring, but that doesn't seem likely. At least he has restored my faith in old rock stars. Peace.

Pavement: Crooked Rain Crooked Rain

     So, I've immersed myself in Crooked Rain Crooked Rain (CRCR) for a few days and I'm not sure why I was conflicted between this album and Slanted And Enchanted. CRCR is by far my favorite Pavement album. It's like a greatest hits album. Silence Kit (my second favorite Pavement song). Elevate Me Later. Stop Breathin'. Cut Your Hair. Gold Soundz. Range Life. Unfair. Heaven Is A Truck. Stephen Malkmus turns in one of his best vocal performances on the track "Newark Wilder". Throw in the Dave Brubeck-ian "5-4=Unity" and you have a masterpiece. To me, all the promise of Slanted And Enchanted is realized on CRCR. I love it right from the jump when it sounds like they're warming up for the first 20 seconds then they lock into that groove that begins "Silence Kit" (or Silent Kid or whatever the real title is). After listening to CRCR several times I hear the influence on early Centro-matic.
     The great thing about the 2004 Matador reissue, besides the packaging, is all the fantastic bonus tracks and alternate takes. Not only is there the R.E.M. cover "Camera", but there's a whole song about the Reckoning album called "Unseen Power of The Picket Fence". When I listened to the alternate takes of "Range Life" and "Stop Breathin'" I was struck by a couple things. One is that I like the music better on the alternate takes. Second, the lyrics were much better on the album versions. This was especially true of "Range Life". I enjoyed the playing more, as well as the fact that they didn't have the verse about Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots. Not that I'm bothered by it, I just think it was unnecessary. However, the lyrics on the album version are far superior. For instance, the line "you gotta pay your dues before you pay the rent" has the word tolls instead of dues on the alternate take. There's also a track from a Peel Session called "Tartar Martyr" that is an awesome, T Rex-y jam. And there are several fragments and instrumentals and songs that would end up being on Wowee Zowee. It's an amazing set. If my kids only listen to one Pavement album, this should be the one.
     I plan on tackling Wowee Zowee next. This is the Pavement album I've listened to the least, so I need to give it several good listens. In other words, it might be awhile. Plus I have to get back to Robert Pollard...and the new MBV...and the new Bowie. Peace.
    

Left Of The Dial

     In my last post about The White Stripes, I mentioned that my co-workers kept trying to get me to go downtown to see them. I really did work with a great bunch of people at my suburban Detroit store. Many of us shared a love of music, books and British comedy. I even married one of them:) When I had to transfer to Akron, I dreaded having to get to know a whole new staff. My fears turned out to be unfounded, as most people in my line of retail share a love of music, books and British comedy. It was sad to leave the store a had spent ten years at though. I did have a great moment of karma involving one of my former co-workers. He went to see Rush with me once,even though he wasn't a huge fan. He enjoyed the experience and it became a bond between us. He liked the song "Working Man", so right before I left for Akron I framed my copy of Rush's debut album and gave it to him. This was the US version of the album. Shortly after I moved I went to a record store, which I won't name (although it wasn't Record Den or Square Records), and I found the Canadian version of Rush's debut album of which they only made 3500 copies. It's worth around $800, but I got it for $6. That's what I call karma. You may be wondering what any of this has to do with Left Of The Dial. When I left my old store several co-workers gave me gifts. I received 2 copies of David Bowie's Reality Tour DVD, the first season of Little Britain and my friend who I gave the Rush album to gave me the CD box set Left of The Dial: Dispatches From The 80s Underground. He had previously recommended that I read the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azeraad. Many of the bands in that book were on this box set. I couldn't wait to dive into it.
     It has many classic songs that I already knew and loved. Among them are:

* Radio Free Europe- REM
* I Will Dare- The Replacements
* Just Like Honey- The Jesus And Mary Chain
* Behind The Wall of Sleep- The Smithereens
* Senses Working Overtime- XTC
* Ana Ng- They Might be Giants
* Under The Milky Way- The Church
* Take The Skinheads Bowling- CVB
* Punk Rock Girl- The Dead Milkmen
* Love Will Tear Us Apart- Joy Division
* She Bangs The Drum- Stone Roses

     It also introduced me to many bands that I would come to love:

* That's When I Reach For My Revolver- Mission of Burma
* Freak Scene- Dinosaur Jr
* Goo Goo Muck- The Cramps
* Teenage Riot- Sonic Youth
* I Look Around- The Rain Parade
* Monkey Gone To Heaven- The Pixies

     I strongly recommend this box set to my kids. They can each take a disc and then swap. As far as the blog goes, I plan on returning to my series on Pavement with my next post on Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Once I started the Pavement series, I felt like a jerk for not doing this with R.E.M.'s first five albums, so I may do that in the future as well. I know I already did a R.E.M. post, but it didn't really do justice to those albums. Peace.

White Stripes: White Blood Cells

     Sometimes I can be a stubborn jackass. I lived in the Metro Detroit area during the Great Garage Rock Revival of the early 2000's and I missed it. My friends and co-workers frequently tried to get me to go downtown and check out The White Stripes. They told me all the crazy stories about Jack and Meg. They were already mythic. When "Fell In Love With A Girl" came out I LOVED it, but I still didn't go. I just hated going downtown. The few times I had gone downtown, I either got lost or had my hubcaps stolen or been panhandled. And trying to find somewhere to park was annoying. I was also in my thirties and married with children, so I didn't have the luxury of going to hang out at clubs in Detroit. Looking back, I wish I had...at least once. I never did see The White Stripes play live, nor have I seen any of Jack White's other bands. Maybe he'll change his mind some day and get The White Stripes back together.
     White Blood Cells is my favorite White Stripes album. One of my prized lp's is White Blood Cells on red vinyl. It looks and sounds stunning. "Fell In Love With A Girl" is one of the all-time great two minute songs and one of my favorite music videos. It has a couple of my favorite lines; "these two sides of my brain need to have a meeting" and "I must be fine cuz my heart's still beating". Here's my top three music videos.

1) Fell In Love With A Girl- White Stripes
2) Buddy Holly- Weezer
3) Pony Ride- Bumblebeez 81 (if you've never seen or heard it check it out on the Youtubes)

White Blood Cells has many other standout tracks including "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground", "Hotel Yorba" and "We're Going To Be Friends". I strongly recommend it to my kids. I also have De Stijl, Elephant and Icky Thump. If they like White Blood Cells, they should try these as well. Elephant is my second favorite. It's coming out on colored vinyl on Record Store Day this year and I'm thinking about getting it. This album features the tracks "Hardest Button To Button" (another great video), "Seven Nation Army", "Black Math" and "Ball and Biscuit". "Hardest Button To Button" is my favorite set of Jack White lyrics all-time. In addition, I have Jack White's Blunderbuss which incudes the awesome song "Sixteen Saltines".
     I've already written a post entitled "In Defense Of Neil Peart". At this time I'd like to defend Meg White. Her drumming gets crapped on even more than Ringo's and it's completely unfair. Meg's drumming style is perfect for the White Stripes' sound. She doesn't have to play like John Bonham or Keith Moon or Stewart Copeland to be effective. In fact, my advice to aspiring drummers is to find your own style.
     Finally, I haven't been posting much lately because I've been sick for three weeks. I'm starting to not feel like a crap sandwich now, so I should be posting on a regular basis again. Peace.

Popstrangers: Antipodes

     Carpark Records is fast becoming one of my favorite labels. It is the home of Cloud Nothings and they just released Antipodes by Popstrangers. Popstrangers are a newish band from New Zealand who are taking the Nirvana track to stardom. By that I mean they are a guitar, bass and drum trio that blows through drummers at a steady clip:) That may bode well for David Larson (current drummer) since we all know how Dave Grohl's life turned out. The band is rounded out by singer / guitarist Joel Flyger and bassist Adam Page.
     I first heard of Popstrangers last year when the Flying Nun website posted their video for the song "What Else Could They Do?". I loved it and have been patiently waiting for them to release an album in the US. Friday, I was just killing time and went to Record Den to look around. I was about to leave when I saw Antipodes on top of a pile of cds waiting to be shelved. I almost screamed like a little girl. Now I'm impatiently waiting for Carpark to bring them here for a tour. I checked on the Googles to see what Antipodes meant and it turns out it's an island in New Zealand, so there ya go. By the way, what's in the water in New Zealand. Amazing bands have been coming out of there for thirty years.
     Popstrangers excel at walking the tightrope between noise pop and melodic rock. Some songs, usually my favorites, fall on the spectrum as melodic noise. These songs would include "Heaven", "What Else Could They Do?" and "Witches Hand". Many songs on this album are slow burners, in which the lyrics don't come in until nearly two minutes into the song. I could go on about their influences (including Nirvana), but they really have their own sound that isn't derivative. Antipodes is a strong debut and I recommend that my kids check it out.